Country Hick
by Simply Bookworm
Summary: OC story. Ali is from a small town in Oklahoma, she's not used to Gotham. She meets the Batbros when she gets accepted to Gotham Academy, and they help her get adjusted. Mostly fluffy, but contains some angst.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, kids," my mother says to my brother and I on the couch, when we had finished unpacking, "new town, new school, are you ready to make some friends?" She looked so hopeful, so I plastered a smile on my face, elbowing my brother to tell him to do the same.

I nodded, still keeping the smile, my dirty blonde curls bouncing in my face, and I moved to push them behind my ear. "I have my phone, and me and Bub will walk to school, right?"

Mom nodded, the tight ringlets I got from her bouncing behind the bobby pins' reach. "That's right, and you remember you're supposed to call me when you get home from school?" Her blue-green eyes were shining from behind her glasses with worry from being in this new environment.

Having gone over this a thousand times, I resist the temptation to roll my eyes. Instead, I nod again, "Yes, Mom."

Mom turns to my freckly brother, now. "Don't break your glasses, you hear? We can't afford a new pair." Bub nods, uncharacteristically serious. He's heard, just as we all have, of the ruthlessness of Gotham's streets.

"Okay," Mom clapped her hands together, "Dad will be home soon, so I need to get something started for dinner. What do you guys think of me popping a pizza in the oven?"

Bub and I both nod our head enthusiastically. I stop when I feel my head pounding with the movement. My headaches were caused by my mouth being too crowded, I had been meant to get braces in back home, but we had to leave and we don't have the money to do that now. Even if we had done it back in Oklahoma, my parents would have gone into some debt.

"Your head bothering you again, Sis?" Mom asked. She paused where she was in the doorway.

I didn't want to worry her, so I lied. "No, I'm just tired."

She nodded, accepting the fib, "Well, you'd better make sure you go to bed early tonight then. You start school in a couple of days, and I won't be there to wake you up." At our old school, Mom had been the High School Principal's secretary. When I was close to falling asleep, she would let me have some of her coffee. Now, though, she was lucky enough to get a job as a secretary at Wayne Enterprises. It didn't allow us to live like kings, but it was the best job she could get and still spend time with her kids and husband.

Mom turned back around to go start dinner. I turned to my brother to see him cleaning his glasses frustratedly. He was trying to clean the lenses with his t shirt, but it was an extremely soft material.

"Would you like to borrow my shirt, good sir?" I said in my purposely-silly British voice.

He nodded furtively, and I walked over, holding out the corner of my rougher-material shirt. Once his glasses were clean, I said, "You probably should get in the shower, dinner won't be ready for a while."

He nodded and went to get his clothes. Soon I could hear the sound of running water, and my brother loudly singing 'Echo'. By the time he was done, Mom and I had the pizza out of the oven and cut into eight pieces. Two for Mom, two for Bub, two for me, and two for Dad. Speaking of Dad...

A man with short brown hair, glasses, and a stubbly goatee walked through the door in his regular work clothes.

"Dad!" Bub and I raced towards the door. I glomped him, and Bub, with his lesser height, hugged Dad's waist. "We have pizza!" I exclaimed.

"Cool," he replied. He looked both sad and excited, which I didn't know was possible until now, but then again, I didn't know Egypt was in Africa, so who am I to talk?

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"You know how back home I worked on a farm?" I nodded. "Well, the only farming job I could get in Gotham was at least thirty minutes out of the city, so I'll probably be home for you to see ten minutes each morning, but it ends two hours earlier than in Oklahoma. So I'll be home around five-ish."

"That's great!" Mom made her presence known to Dad. "Hi, Honey," she nuzzled his cheek and kissed him.

"I'm gonna go shower," I informed to my mom, who nodded and said,

"Don't take all the hot water, sweetie."

As I went to my bedroom to get my pajamas that consisted of a well-loved t shirt, and a pair of comfy windbreakers, a strange feeling overtook me. It was like I was being watched, so I peeked out my window. It was dark, but I caught sight of a silhouette standing on the apartment across from ours, and then it was gone in the blink of an eye. Thinking the stress of going to a completely new school was getting to me, I left to take my shower.

 **Hey, guys! So, this is my first story on this site with an OC. This OC was modeled after me and how my family interacts, it's so much easier to write. If you are reading this and you liked it, please let me know through the comments, cause I love comments. Also, if you could check out my other stories, that'd be great. I update as often as I can, so please be patient with me. No flames please! Only constructive criticism if you want to give it! Find me on wattpad at SimplyBookworm1604.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Ali!" Mom called for me.

I walked into the kitchen where she was making breakfast. "Yeah?" I could tell that my voice was thick with sleep.

"I have a surprise for you! It's a good one, not, like, we have to move again." She looked sheepish at that. Telling me hadn't gone over well.

"Well?" I was tired, and not really in the mood for surprises. "What did you want to tell me?"

"One of your friends from back home is moving here!" I perked up at that. "Can you guess who?"

"Umm... Anna?" Surprise flitted across her face, I made the deduction that I'd guessed right. Back home, Anna had been my BEST friend. We did our homework together, read a lot of the same books, we were the best of buddies. Since she didn't have a phone, though, we couldn't keep in touch.

"Wow, that's right! Pretty lucky, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," I couldn't believe my good fortune. I came over and sat down at the table, a bowl of oatmeal on the table in front of me.

As Mom talked to me about her new job, I thought about what school Anna might go to. Bub and I were going to a public school, but with her grades and stuff she might get a scholarship to Gotham Academy. Bub and I had applied, but we hadn't gotten word back, so for now, we were going to a public school. At least we didn't have uniforms.

After school was over, thank God, I came to our apartment and emptied the mailbox like I would back in Oklahoma. I ushered Bub inside after unlocking the door, and put the mail on a table by the door. I walked over to our hooks, and set my backpack on one of them. I made my brother and I a small snack- today it was some carrots, broccoli, and a bit of ranch- and sat down on the couch to do my homework. I was only in Pre-Algebra, but I never had been good at math. I got good grades, but it took a while for me to understand. When that was done, I read some of the book we were reading in English- "Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe.

Seeing that it was now close to 5:00, and Mom wouldn't be home for another hour, and we got home around 3:30, I cleaned up the mess from our snack, and went into the kitchen to make some dinner. I was close to starving, and guessed Bub was too, so I made some grilled cheese and tomato soup. After dinner, I went through the mail to see if we had junk mail, or if it was mostly bills. To my surprise I saw the Gotham Academy seal. I pulled that one from the pile that had amassed on the table, and opened it slowly.

 _Dear Alison Parks,_

 _I am happy to inform you that you and your brother, Bo, have been accepted to Gotham Academy. Please purchase two uniforms, and come to class on the 6th of September so that you may receive your lockers, and familiarize yourselves with our school. We are delighted to have two new brilliant minds joining our student body._

 _Sincerely, Principal Sparks_

I was so shocked and excited that I almost dropped the letter.

"Bub! Bub! Come here real quick!" I yelled, jumping up and down.

He came barreling in, wondering what had got me so excited. "What is it, Sis?" He looked to the letter in my hand. "What's that?" Curiosity flashed across his face.

"Our acceptance letter!" The smile on my face could probably light up a room- not to be conceited or anything.

A puzzled look on his face made me grin. "What's an acceptance letter?"

"I means we got into this really good school. We start the sixth of September!" The smile was back.

"Ohh, I get it now." He frowned, "Do we have to wear a uniform?"

I laughed this time. "Yes, but it is a _really_ good school."

The sound of our front door unlocking interrupted our conversation. The sound of my mom's voice carried through the house to the kitchen. "What's a really good what?"

"Mom! We got our acceptance letters!" Mom, being the one who helped me fill out the form, beamed at the news, even tired as she looked.

"That's great! We gotta tell Dad when he gets home. Well, if he gets home before you guys go to bed, anyway." She looked sullen at this.

"Cheer up, Mom, I made grilled cheese!" I tried to cheer her up. When she's not in a good mood, she gets all grumpy and snaps at us.

"You _are_ the only one who doesn't burn them." She looked wistful at the prospect of the golden brown crust my grilled cheese provided.

I led her over to a plate I had placed in the microwave to keep them warm. She grabbed a plate from the cupboards, and came over to the microwave where I gave her a grilled cheese. Next to a pot on the stove that was on heat low enough to keep the contents warm, but not to cook them any further. I grabbed the ladle that was resting on a napkin nest to the stove, and spooned Mom some tomato soup into the bowl she had grabbed.

"Thanks, Sissy." She sat down at the table, and we talked for a little bit. When she finished, she told me, "You and Bub'd better go take a shower 'fore Dad gets home." I nodded, and turned to leave.

"Bub!" He turned towards me. "You wanna shower first, or am I going to?"

"You," he replied, turning back to his movie, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl'. From what I could tell, he was at the part where Barbosa said, "You'd best start believin' in ghost stories, Miss Turner. You're in one."

I went to my bedroom and got my clothes, then went to the bathroom to get the water to my favorite temperature- almost scalding, but not hot enough to burn. I stepped in, and almost groaned at the relief the hot water and steam brought to my pounding head. I finally broke out of my stupor, and grabbed the shampoo. I squeezed a dollop onto my hand, and lathered up my hair. I rinsed, and conditioned-cause if I didn't, my curly hair would be mad at me- and then washed off. I turned off the water and grabbed my towel, then dried off my upper half. I opened the shower curtain, and was greeted with a steamy mirror. I dried off my bottom half, and got into my pjs. I hung my towel back on the rack, and was greeted with cool air the minute I stepped out of the door.

I put my dirty clothes into the hamper, and went into my room to retrieve the book I was making my way through, 'Lord of the Flies'. I came into the living room again, and found the sight of my dad and brother cuddling on the couch adorable. 'Awww', I thought. I sat down opposite them, and looked back at the movie that was still playing after saying 'hi' to Dad. It was at the part where Jack was saying "But why is the rum gone?". I opened up my book and began where I left off. Chapter five. I read in my head, because that was just easier for me.

""Look at us! How many are we? Yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see we ought to- ought to die before we let the fire out?"

There was self-conscious giggling among the hunters. Ralph turned on them passionately.

"You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?" He spread his arms wide and turned to the whole triangle.

"We've got to make smoke up there- or die."

He paused, waiting for his next point.

"And another thing."

Someone called out.

"Too many things."

There came a mutter of agreement."

My reading was interrupted by Mom telling me that it was nearly 9:00, and to go brush my teeth. I was surprised, it didn't seem like that much time had passed. I went to do it anyway. After, I went to bed and read some more for another thirty minutes or so, then went to bed. Tomorrow was the thirtieth of August, and we had school. Thank the Lord above that it was a Friday, though.

 **Okay, just wanted to let you know, not all of the chapters in all of my stories will be this long. I had a suggestion from someone, though, and I took it to heart. So... here. Take your chapter, and please don't hurt me if the next one is late.**


	3. New friends

"Bub, come on! We're going to be late if you don't get your butt in gear!" I made a 'hurry up' gesture at the door.

He zipped his backpack and we practically ran out the door, I locked it behind us, and we flew down the steps of the apartment stairwell. I yelled a quick 'Hi!' at the old woman in the lobby who sometimes made us cookies, and we crashed through the door. We ran down the street, having only a few minutes until the bell was supposed to ring, and I was going slower than I actually could, which was pretty fast in my opinion.

We arrived with seconds to spare, gasping at the gates as the bell rang. We hurried to the office, which took a few minutes, as the school was GINORMOUS and it took FOREVER to find. We got there as the late bell rang, and the nice-looking old lady at a desk smiled softly at us.

"You must be the new kids. I'm Mrs. Scuttle, and yes, that is the seagull from "The Little Mermaid". Here are your schedules and locker numbers and combinations." She smiled and handed us each two stapled papers. "Since neither of you are in high school, you won't have A days and B days, so that means no block classes."

I looked at mine:

 _FACS- 1st period, 8:00 to 8:50; teacher- Mrs. Taylor_

 _Breakfast- 8:50 to 9:05_

 _US History- 9:05 to 10:00; teacher- Mrs. Johndrow_

 _Pre-Algebra- 10:00 to 10:55; teacher- Mr. Norton_

 _Lunch- 10:55 to 11:20_

 _English- 11:20 to 12:15; teacher- Mrs. Riddle **(these are actually the names of my teachers, we call Mrs. Riddle the Triddler, cause her first name starts with a 'T')**_

 _Science- 12:15 to 1:10; teacher- Mr. Norton_

 _Vocal- 1:10 to 2:05; teacher- Mrs. Lamb_

 _P.E.- 2:05 to 3:00; teacher- Mr. Hart_

Mrs. Scuttle pointed down the hall, "That's where your first class is, Sweetie." She pointed the other way, "That's where yours is, Dear."

I thanked her and went on my way to my new FACS class. I opened the door, and went down the short hall that had the kitchen on one side, and went straight ahead. There was a door that led into a fairly large room with a tall woman speaking to a class of what looked to be thirty people, easy. When I walked in, no one noticed me except for one boy in the back of the room who had black, spiky hair and piercing blue eyes. He seemed to stare straight into my soul, you know- if that was possible. The teacher didn't notice me, so I cleared my throat and she startled a bit, but turned towards me.

"Ah! You must be Ali. Find an empty seat, please." Her voice was kind of annoying, but bearable.

As my luck would have it, the only empty seat was next to the boy who stared at me when I came in. I walked/shuffled awkwardly to the seat, feeling as if eyes were boring into the back of my head. At least the desk was in the back. I sat down, and he was the first to say anything.

"You are uncomfortable." This was said in a monotone, like a statement rather than a guess.

"What gave me away?" I asked in a small voice, but with a teasing undertone.

He must have thought I was serious, because he gave me a few reasons. "Well, you were shuffling, slouching, and there is a slight quaver to your voice. You are also tense."

"I was kidding," I gave him a dull look. There was a sudden sharp pain from my temples, and it must have shown, because the boy looked at me worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Earlier he had sounded cold, distant. Now, though, his voice was warm and concerned.

"Fine," I said, "just a headache. I get them all the time, so I'm used to them by now." I shrugged it off, and noticed that the teacher was talking again.

He seemed to sense my being uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. "I'm Damian," he whispered.

"Ali," I whispered back.

The rest of the day was a normal affair, other than a surplus of homework. I had a page of Pre-Algebra, to start an essay for English, and fill out a periodic table for Science. I met up with my brother after school by the gates, and we walked home. Or, were going to, but I was approached by Damian. He was dragging a high schooler by the wrist who had the same black hair as him, but a different shade of blue eyes. The older boy's eyes were more welcoming, warmer. I subconsciously trusted him.

"Hey, Damian." I greeted him as I stopped my brother from walking away by putting a firm hand on his shoulder. I gripped it tightly, but not tight enough to hurt him.

"Hello, Ali." He let go of the older boy's wrist as they approached. He then gestured to sadi boy with a wave of his hand. "This is my brother, Tim. I think you will get on well together. You have many of the same interests, and Drake is also an intellectual."

I sent the older boy a questioning look. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly, and I wandered why Damian called this Tim boy 'Drake'. Was there some sort of Gotham tradition I didn't know about? I gave a small wave, and turned to leave.

"Wait," This voice was unfamiliar to me, "I'm Tim." I turned back to look at him, and the throbbing in my head made its presence known. Some of my discomfort must have shown on my face, because Tim sent a worried look my way as he started talking again. "I'm Damian's brother."

"Um," I really needed to up my social skills, "that's... nice. I guess. I have to go or my mom's gonna kill me, but it was nice meeting you." I turned again, and I could hear whispering behind me, just not what the whispers were about. I really needed to get me and my brother home though, or Mom _was_ gonna kill me.

 **There. Finally got it done, let me know how you think it turned out! Finally got some batkids in there. We'll probably see some Dick and Jason in there next chapter. I'm taking requests and prompts now, so if you have one, please let me know, and I'll eventually get around to writing and publishing it. By the way, every update on these stories, are published on wattpad first. So if you want to read these sooner, then go there. See you later!**


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